Like everyone I know it’s early May and I was chomping at the bit to see Marvel’s The Avengers motion picture. Well, I’ve seen it and it is better than I ever thought it could have been. Along with all the hype, and merchandise, t-shirts, Hulk Hands and action figures a new item was seen back a couple of months ago at the New York Toy Fair by our very own Toygodd. Marvel had teamed up with Peavey guitars to put out acoustic and electric guitars, picks and straps adorned with the superheroes kids and geeks such as myself would love.
I decided to get the student sized 3/4 size Thor solid body electric guitar, figuring that parents would most likely be buying this for a younger first time player. (Not to say that I wouldn’t love to try out a full size model for my own use, but that’s another story).

Packaging

The guitar comes boxed with Marvel superheroes artwork surrounding a small clear plastic window that allows you to see the character depicted on your axe. It’s simple, effective and should appeal to any kid receiving this as a gift. Inside you’ll find a small bag or Peavey picks and a black shoulder strap. embossed with the Marvel logo. Again, these are not the ornate offerings that you can purchase separately, but they do work and as long as you have a small amp, they will get you started.

The Guitar

The body is a double cut-away strat type solid body, painted a cool glossy black. The body is thin and pretty light which is cool for a student model.
Thor’s likeness is emblazoned on the upper bout and through the pick up and bridge. The artwork is bright and very well done, as is the Mighty Thor legend printed in red just above the neck at the upper horn.
There are bevels cut into the body at the back which will benefit the player in terms of comfort.
The bridge is a standard fixed bridge with plenty ways to adjust your strings, this also helps with keeping the strings in tune longer as non locking tremolos as seen on basic strats quickly fall out of tune and constantly correcting your tuning is not a fun way to spend your practice time.
The single humbucking pickup is also a very simple set up which helps keep the price of this guitar down. There are also a single volume and single tone control, with the jack for the amp affixed to the lower bout of the guitar. It’s a super easy set up for a kid who basically wants to rock out and have a great time.
There is a rosewood fretboard with position markers painted on.
The headstock is also painted black and has six sealed no name tuners and the Peavey logo along with the Marvel logo and Rockmaster printed on it as well.

Playing it

The neck has a shorter than I’m used to, as this is the student model, and the narrowness of the neck will help those with smaller hands. It makes stretching to play notes as less of a chore than a full scale neck. The sound from the humbucker is solid and can easily be distorted to fill your young rocker with rock star swagger. The sustain is good and overall is a great guitar.

Overall Impression

The Rockmaster Peavey Marvel guitar is an inexpensive way for kids and smaller adults to get into playing without dropping hundreds of dollars on a Gibson or Fender. The main thing is for younger kids to want to play, and having a superhero’s face emblazoned on your axe is just so many levels of cool. Look for other Marvel heavyweight characters on Peavey guitars: Hulk, Spider-man, Iron Man or Captain America.
Peavey also has an array of Marvel character picks and guitar straps that should inspire your kid to practice. Along with simple lessons on the web and via music publishers, you beginning musician will be strumming recognizable tunes in no time.

Note: We will be giving away a 3/4 student model, your choice of character to one lucky winner from our good friends at Peavey musical instruments and our very own Prize Monkey. Stay tuned (get it?) for details coming soon.